Day 21: Home, Home On The Range

We're HOME!!! And we didn't kill eachother! It was kinda touch-and-go there for awhile.

Its really good to be home, and I'm looking forward to sleeping in my own bed and taking a real shower. Most of all, like I said before, Im looking forward to getting back into a schedule. It was getting to be a pretty long trip. We had lots of fun though, and I learned a lot about traveling on the road with two little ones; mainly, you can never have enough snacks, Barney DVDs are more tolerable than listening to your toddler ask "what's that?" for the 1billionth time, and yes - the carseat CAN get more dirty. The girls did great though, and we are already talking about where we're going next summer. BUT for now, its back to reality: laundry, bills, grocery shopping, and all of those fun things you kind of get to slack on while you're on vacation. Bummer.

Day 20: The Grand Canyon

Its the last leg of The Gilliland's Summer Adventure. We're in Williams, AZ which is a town near the Grand Canyon. We visited the big hole in the ground yesterday, and it truly is Grand to say the least. We hiked around a little, took lots of pictures, Emma and Austin joined the Junior Ranger program by attending a lecture about rock formations (Emma's favorite topic, of course) and completing a workbook. It was a fun afternoon of gazing on one of God's amazing creations. We also took all the kids to the Imax movie about The Grand Canyon - it was Emma's first theater experience and Im pretty sure she enjoyed it. She kept yelling "funny, Momma!", which Im guessing was her two-year old way of saying "dude! check out the awesomeness!". Anyway, we finished off our day with watching the sun set over the Canyon...it truly was remarkable.

We leave here tomorrow and are all very much looking forward to being home, sleeping in our own beds; my favorite, NAP TIME will again be scheduled into our days, and no more carseats for a very long time...or at least not for hours at a time.

Day 19: NM & AZ

Today we headed west towards the Grand Canyon. We stopped at a couple of sights along the way. The first was a museum in an old mining town. We took an elevator down to the depths of the earth (ok, it was just the basement, but dont tell the kids) and got a tour of a 'real' uranium mine. It was pretty fun, and only took 30 minutes out of our day. We also stopped at the Petrified National Forest, but we all voted to axe the 45 minute drive through it...we'd all had enough of the car. So, we checked out the visitors center, and their lovely bathrooms, and were on our way again. This is a pic of Austin doning a miner's gear. What a ham.

Day 15/16/17 & 18: Here We Go Again!

Well, we're off on the last leg of our journey...a week-long trip from Wisconsin back to So.Cal via the Grand Canyon. We spent our first night in Des Moines, Iowa...getting into our campsite quite late, it was a quick dinner and then off to bed. The next night we arrived in a small little town in Kansas, and the girls and I went for a little cool down at the pool; and later Austin made a fishing pole out of some random stuff he scrounged up in the trailer, so he and Robert went fishing at the little lake near the campsite...for maybe 2 minutes before they were attacked by mosquitos. Oh well. Then last night we stayed in Colorado and unfortunately the Mosquitos were holding us hostage in the trailer again. Tonight, we are in lovely Albuquerque, NM...the best part: NO BUGS! We are all still itching like crazy from the past few nights, but I think we're far enough south, or they hose down this place with chemicals (either way, Im happy), that the mosquitos are leaving us alone. We set up camp and all went swimming at the pool...some much needed activity after our long journey. We are all getting a little stir crazy from the long days on the road, but for the most part, everyone is doing really good. Emma is finally starting to take some good long naps in her carseat (not so much the case the first half of our trip). Austin got over the fact that he lost his PS2 at a truck stop and is finding other ways to entertain himself. And Eden, well lets just say she's over the road part of our roadtrip...and, unfortunately her bottom two teeth are popping through and she's as cranky as all get out. She does pretty good, but there have been a couple of long cry-fests the past couple of days. We are all looking forward to getting to the Grand Canyon tomorrow and hanging out there for a few days, doing some sightseeing, lighting up a few campfires and just sitting still for a little while.

I've been neglecting the camera for a few days...and honestly, there have been very few photo-ops. So no picture today.

Good night!

Day 14: Thats Not Mustard

Today was all about the Minnesota State Fair...food, fun, and farm stuff galore! With a major emphasis on the FOOD. Here is a list of what I remember actually trying: Corn dog, deep-fried cheese curds, deep-fried fruit on a stick, deep-fried dill pickles (are you noticing a pattern here?!), fresh squeezed lemonade, a 3ft beef stick, lemon-lime icee, grilled corn on the cob, a bucket of chocolate chip cookies, pizza on a stick, lamb gyro, fresh cut french fries, and a funnel cake. It looks worse all written down like that...oy!

If you can believe it, we did do more than just eat. The kids rode a ton of rides: the ferris wheel, aligator boats, a train-ride, and a giant slide to name a few; we saw cows with newborn calves, and baby lambs, geese, and chickens. I even got to do some laundry and Eden got a little shower! Our little power-pooper was at it again... Eden poo'd all over her, and my nice white shirt. It was quite the ordeal. The pic is of my mom, sister and I hosing (yes HOSING) Eden off behind one of the food vendors kiosks...it was a sight to see, thats for sure.

I cant wait till next year! Note to self: be better prepared - bring extra clothes for me too.

Day 13: Happy Birthday Emma Jean!

Dear Emma,

I can't believe today you are two years old. Time has gone so fast! You've grown so much and are becoming quite a big girl now. You are little miss independent, but not so much that my kisses aren't a necessary part of every little owie. This past year you have mastered so many new skills - from climbing the rock wall at the playground, to putting on your own shoes, and you've even used the big girl potty a couple of times...your diaperless days are coming very soon. You are my little firecracker - 'no' and 'no way' are two of your favorite words. You are very friendly - you say 'hi' to just about everyone; and loving, you like to dole out the hugs by the handfuls. You also love your new little sister so much and love to take care of her by giving her the pacifier when she cries, and helping me change her diaper, and you're the one that can always get a smile out of her no matter how cranky she gets. You're super smart too! You have amazing problem-solving skills for your age. And you are very VERY curious -one of your nicknames is 'nine arms' because it often seems as though you actually have nine arms...we hardly get done asking you to put something down that strikes your fancy, before you have something else in the other. Needless to say, your Daddy and I go to bed exhaused at the end of the day trying to keep up with you. You seem to have an endless supply of energy; however, as much as you keep us on our toes; we'd have it no other way. I am looking forward to the next year - with your ever increasing vocabulary, I cant wait to get a further glimpse into the amazing little girl you are becoming. I love you so much Monkey, please dont ever change.

A million hugs and kisses,

Mommy

p.s. If you soon decide to fast track this 'terrible twos' phase, I will be ever so grateful.

Day 11 & 12: Relaxing and Camping

Well, the boys (Robert, Austin & my Dad) went camping and fishing; and, the girls and I took some time off and hung out at the house with my Mom and sisters. Apparently, the boys caught a "ton of fish", but they didn't bring any home and there were no pictures to document it...hmmm??? Tall tails Im guessing.

Anyway, here's a picture of the Austin and Emma having some water fun in the backyard with their cousin Jacob.

Tomorrow is Emma's birthday! I cant believe she's gonna be two years old!

Day 10 - A Trip To The Mall Of America

We headed out to The Mall Of America, which at one time was the largest mall in North America...but like anything, someone had to top it. All the girls took off to look at wedding dresses, bridesmaid dresses, and flower girl dresses - my sister Steph is getting married next spring and Emma is going to be a flower girl! Robert, Emma and Austin went on a bunch of rides at the amusement park. If how much our feet hurt was any indication that we had a good time...we must have had a blast!

Day 9 - A Quiet Day

After all that traveling, we had a down-day at the Kendrick Homestead after Church. Nothing too exciting, the girls took good naps, Emma went to the park with her Aunt Beka, Austin hunted wild-game (um....birds coming to visit the birdfeeder?) in the backyard, Robert and I chilled out and visited with my family; and then...well, lets just say the trailer tried to take on a lawn ornament and lost. Basically, it got a little owie, so Robert spent the afternoon repairing it. Kind of a bummer, but it was a pretty easy patch, and its good to go!

Day 8 - To Grandmother's House We Go!

Well, we made it to Wisconsin! After a long day of traveling, and a quick little visit with my Grandparents in southern Minnesota, we arrived at my parent's house. Everyone was happy to be out of the car, and Robert and I were extremely grateful for the extra hands...we handed off a poopie Eden and a very wet Emma to her Aunties and let them bond with their nieces. Nothin' like a little quality time over diaper changes, I always say.

Day 7 - Sioux Falls, SD

We're on our way to Sioux Falls...a super long boring drive. To break it up, we made a couple of stops along the way. The first at Wall Drug. Its much more than a typical drug store. I believe that you could possibly get a prescription filled if you wanted to, but that wouldnt be the reason to stop there, thats for sure. I could try to explain it, but unless you go, you just wont understand it anyway, so I guess I'll save the explaination. The second stop was at the Mitchell Corn Palace...yes folks, they make a palace out of corn. Or more, they decorate an entire palace (used locally as a sort of convention center) with murals made of corn, wheat and other locally grown goodies. Its quite a site to behold. After a long day of weird sightseeing, we bounced into the campground, Robert and Austin were stoked that it had cable, so while they were bbq'ing dinner, they watched the Olympics, and we all went to bed looking forward to one more day on the road before we reach Grandma's house.

Day: 4/5/&6 - Mt. Rushmore!

Well, we made it to Mt. Rushmore in one piece. It was a long haul from Wyoming, but everyone did great. Our first day there, we had planned to meet Austin, his mom Leanne, his step-dad Larry, and Grandma Mona; but they were running late and weren't going to get there till the following day. So, we took advantage of the down-time and took some good naps, did a little laundry, Robert caught up on some work stuff, and the girls and I had fun at the park and swimming.

The following day, we met up with Ausin & Co. and took off to Mt. Rushmore. What a site to behold! I've seen it so many times in TV, movies, books, etc. that it seemed almost unreal to be standing there looking up into the nostrils of the Presidents. Afterwards, we all went off on our separate ways - Robert, I and the girls went on a driving, narated tour (via a cool thing called a SmartAlec that narated our journey)...the girls took their naps while we drove; followed by a visit to Bear Country. The bears and other animals walked right up to the car! And Austin & Co. went off to antique shop and visit the Crazy Horse Memorial. Afterwards, we all met up for dinner back at the campground and s'mores by the campfire.

It was a really nice trip, despite some torrential down-pours. We will definately be going back there in the future!

Thursday, we're off to spend the night in Sioux Falls, SD before our trek to Grandma's house.

A Whole Lot More of Nothin'

Day 3: Barr Nunn, WY

We're staying just outside Casper, WY tonight. This was the highlight pic. of the day...Emma found a tumble weed. After a little down time at the playground, and dinner, everyone crashed. We had a looooong day.

We leave early tomorrow morning for Mt. Rushmore!

A Whole Lotta Nothin'

Day 2: Salt Lake City, UT

We're just passing through Salt Lake City. Here's a riviting shot of a bunch of nothing hills, and 300+ miles to go on the Nav System. Oy.

Vegas Babies!!!

The Gilliland Summer Road-Trip Adventure

Day 1: Las Vegas!

Well, we're off on our cross-country road-trip to visit my family in Wisconsin. Our first stop on the tour is Las Vegas. We are only staying the night, but of course we had to take the girls out to get a little taste of Vegas - literally and figuratively. We had dinner at the Circus Circus Buffet and took a tour of the casino. Emma wasnt quite tall enough for any of the rides except the merry-go-round...which she did. Eden was pretty content to just look around at all the hoopola. After a hot day of traveling - 105! - everyone was happy going to bed early. 8pm early. Nice.

We're off to Salt Lake City in the morning.

A Camping We Will Go...

Well, we're off again...down to San Diego for a few days of camping, a little trip to the zoo, and some good ol' bonding time with the fam. Here's a pic of our big set-up...we pretty much leave home with everything - and then some. That's the beauty of 'camping' Cheryl-style. As long as I can take a shower, flush, and get warm or cool (as is needed)...Im all for this camping thing!